Important Safety Information! *Update 5/6/12* 1st post! Please read!

Please keep in mind when posting your blogs that again, you are putting out personal information and pictures that ANYONE can steal, mutilate, use as their own, create fake profiles with and use YOUR pictures to pass of YOUR babies as theirs and create entire fantasies about them.

***UPDATE 2/1/12***

Just another heads up to make sure that anything you don't want shared elsewhere is not posted anywhere here or elsewhere online. There was a nasty, horrific incident this morning where very graphic child pornography photos were posted on one the birth groups on Babycenter. Please make sure that your profiles are private, that your photos are private or non-existent, and that you "know" who you are accepting friend invites from. Another reminder that any photos, including ultrasound pics that have personal information on them will be deleted immediately. I PAN to the OP to let them know why and that I'm doing it, but this is NON-NEGOTIABLE. I can't stop them from posting on other groups, but I do my best to keep this group safe and troll/drama free.

***UPDATED 1/5/12*** I wanted to let you know that on some of the other groups I frequent, there have been some of the usual nastiness going around..."stalker" type of things like stalkers tracking down regulars on Facebook, stealing pics again, etc. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½Some members have left BBC over this. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½So far, none of this is affecting our group. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½I have taken care of some situations, hopefully before most people are aware of it, but again, just a reminder to think before posting personal information, pic's, etc. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½And as always, any posts with ultrasound pictures or other pictures for that matter that give personal information will be deleted immediately with a PAN sent explaining why. Thanks all.

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***UPDATE 12/11/11*** The winter holidays are now upon us with a lot of kids getting out of school this week for the next several weeks. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½Please, use caution during this time addressing the "Could it be twins" question, by checking the profile of the poster to see what their join date is. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½Posts will be locked or deleted with a note sent to the OP that ultrasound is the only way to confirm twins, so new posters be warned...this has always been the case for this group, new member to BBC or not. ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½Be careful about sharing personal information, and as always any ultrasound pictures with personal information will be immediately deleted (well, immediately as soon as I or another GO see it!).

***UPDATE 11/18/11***Just wanted to bring this to everyone's attention again, as we are about to have a school break, and the fake posters tend to come out during this time.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If you read a thread that feels "off" to you, feel free to report it.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Check the OP (original poster) join date.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If the date is very, very recent, and the post is something fishy, chances are it's a fake/drama post.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Please report it.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Most of these posters are new, use a default avatar, have no siggy and tend to use text speak and/or have very bad spelling and grammar.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Don't hesitate to report anything you're not sure of or to contact me via PAN (pass a note) to voice any concerns. Thanks!

***UPDATE 10/23/11*** On another very popular, fast moving group that I'm a member of, someone's identity was stolen, and a fake Facebook page was made with very hateful things and stolen pictures.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Please take every precaution available to you to protect your private information here on Babycenter.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Make your profile private. If your name or your children's names are part of your screen name, seriously consider having that account shut down and create a new, more private account.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If you've posted things such as your location, real name, and even pictures, consider going to www.google.com and googling your screen name with "babycenter" in quotes to find those threads and editing/deleting them.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Feel free to PAN to me or the other GO's for more information on how to protect your privacy.

Here are some basics on how to protect your privacy:

ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½

1. Use a screen name that is obscure and not related to your or your family in any way. Do not use your child's name, your last name, or any other identifying words that could be pinned to you. If you already have a name like this, you have to decide what your comfort level is and if deleting and creating a new screen name is the way to go.

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2. Set your account to PRIVATE. If you don't know how, click on this link, and select the "Mark my profile as private" box. Be sure to save changes.

3. Do not use photos of you or your family or any other identifying pictures as avatars. To change your avatar, Go to My Stuff , and look on the left side of the page, under your screenname. Click on the Change Photo link, and from there you can choose or upload a photo to set as your Profile Photo.

4. Delete all personal information given in old threads. To do this go to www.google.com and use this search: "username" site:babycenter.com. Put your name in the quotes (include the quotes). Find your old threads and delete edit/delete personal info.

5. To change your location on your profile : Click the My Stuff tab to come to your Profile. Below your user photo and status line is a link that says "Edit account settings." Click that link, and then choose "Personal info" at the top of the page. 'Location' is the first field to fill out.

6. To delete your current account: At the bottom of every page is a link to Contact Us. One of the choices in the menu includes "close my account". Submit your request there and your account will be closed within in 3 business days.

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7. Do not link your personal blogs, shops, etsy, pinterest, facebook companies or any other link to you in your signature.

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***UPDATE 10/3/11*** We've had a few "posters" here in the last few days who's stories have been proven to be false.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ A few things to look out for are: Unusual or unbelievable stories that just seem "odd"...click on the person's profile and check their "join date".ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If it's recent, it's a good bet that it's someone pretending to be someone or something they are not.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Report the thread AND the profile.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Most of the time they will have generic avatars and no real siggy.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ And, they also tend to use a lot of text speak and/or poor grammar.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Do not communicate with anyone via PAN (pass a note/private messages) that asks for personal information or donations or "help".ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ You can also report PAN's just like threads.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Any questions, please feel free to PAN me.

***UPDATE 8/8*** We have had some "Could it be twins" type posts by people who JUST joined the very day they post...it may seem innocent enough, but most of these posters are fakes trying to gain information so they can come back later and say they are pregnant with twins and have xxx symptoms.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ They learn that information from the initial "I think it's twins, what symptoms did you have" type of posts...if you see these posts, before responding to them, you can click on the screen name and see their "join" date.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If it's the same date as the date the post is created, please think twice before responding.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ The best response, if you must respond is "Only an ultrasound will tell" and leave it at that...no details on HCG levels, morning sickness, showing early, etc.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ And, you can always report the thread as well, so that we can check into it as well. Thanks!

***UPDATE 7/25*** We JUST had one here on this group within the last 15 minutes (6pm MST 7/25)...please, please be very careful and don't hesitate to report ANYTHING you think is suspect!ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Thank you!!***

***UPDATE 7/26*** from my previous safety warnings, please don't forget to edit out personal information on ultrasound pictures.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Any posts containing personal information on the u/s pic's WILL BE DELETED...I will always send a note though and c&p your original thread minus the pic's so you can edit your pic's and re-post.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Over the years, many, many u/s pic's have been stolen, along with identities.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Let's be safe here moms and dads!ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ I hate that I have to put this out there, but don't forget that my babies pic's were stolen just a few short months ago and I don't want any of you to go through what I went through with that ordeal!

We've had some posters here lately from people who are not who they present themselves to be...this always seems to happen when there are school vacations.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ If you see or read anything that doesn't sit right with you PLEASE don't hesitate to PAN (Pass A Note) to me with your concerns.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Try not to address it on the boards as that is exactly what they are looking for and the more drama they create, the happier they are.

Also, just a reminder, that if you know for a fact that a poster is a "fake", it is against guidelines to publicly call them out or refer to posts that they've been involved in.ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½ Report both the posts and the profile so that the mods can handle it.

One more reminder, this is a public group, which means anyone (even non-Babycenter members) can see anything and everything, so please be careful when posting personal information and pictures, as all of this information can easily be stolen (pictures included...happened to me 2 months ago in fact, right here on Babycenter)...so just be smart and realize how very public this group is.

Thank you!

ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½

1. Use a screen name that is obscure and not related to your or your family in any way. Do not use your child's name, your last name, or any other identifying words that could be pinned to you. If you already have a name like this, you have to decide what your comfort level is and if deleting and creating a new screen name is the way to go.

2. Set your account to PRIVATE. If you don't know how, click on this link, and select the "Mark my profile as private" box. Be sure to save changes.

3. Do not use photos of you or your family or any other identifying pictures as avatars. To change your avatar, Go to My Stuff , and look on the left side of the page, under your screenname. Click on the Change Photo link, and from there you can choose or upload a photo to set as your Profile Photo.

4. Delete all personal information given in old threads.To do this go to www.google.com and use this search: "username" site:babycenter.com. Put your name in the quotes (include the quotes). Find your old threads and delete edit/delete personal info.

5. To change your location on your profile : Click the My Stuff tab to come to your Profile. Below your user photo and status line is a link that says "Edit account settings." Click that link, and then choose "Personal info" at the top of the page. 'Location' is the first field to fill out.

6. To delete your current account: At the bottom of every page is a link to Contact Us. One of the choices in the menu includes "close my account". Submit your request there and your account will be closed within in 3 business days.

7. Do not link your personal blogs, shops, etsy, pinterest, facebook companies or any other link to you in your signature.